LAUSR

Methods for postirradiation characterization of bulk (cm 3 ) irradiated materials or even spent nuclear fuels are sparse due to their extremely radioactive nature. While several methods exist to characterize smaller volumes (< 1 mm 3 ) of such samples, selecting these volumes from larger samples is challenging. X-ray-based methods are prohibitive due to the strong γ -radiation from the sample flooding the detectors. Neutron-based methods available in the proximity of irradiation reactors allow for thermal neutron radiography or computed tomography using a small reactor source, but one cannot assess isotope distributions or microstructural features such as phases, texture, or strain from diffraction measurements due to flux limitations. We present herein a pathway to provide pulsed neutron characterization of bulk irradiated samples using time-of-flight neutron diffraction for microstructural characterization and energy-resolved neutron imaging for assessment of isotopic densities and distributions. Ultimately, laser-driven pulsed neutron sources may allow deployment of these techniques pool-side at irradiation reactors.